Ex-Skadden trainee appointed parliamentary private secretary to Michael Gove

Avatar photo

By Liz Wong on

Hopefully Robert Jenrick MP will be able to remember the public law module from his GDL

The new non-lawyer justice secretary has brought in a young former corporate solicitor to help him with the law.

Former Skadden lawyer Robert Jenrick MP has been moved to the coveted position of parliamentary private secretary to Michael Gove in today’s parliamentary re-shuffle.

First class Cambridge history graduate Jenrick, 33, trained and qualified at the London office of the US mega firm after doing the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) at what is now the University of Law.

But he soon tired of the solicitor life at the notoriously tough but very well-paying Skadden — NQ salary: £98,000 — quitting the law to take a managerial role at auctioneers Christie’s before moving into politics.

Last year Jenrick became an MP after winning the knife-edge Newark by-election.

He will take responsibility for managing parliamentary backbench opinions, with his role particularly focused on the issue of human rights policy reform.

Let’s hope he remembers that public law module from his GDL.

Hat tip to Guido Fawkes for the reshuffle details.